Garden Waste Subscription Deadline Approaches – But Many Rural Eden Residents Still Can't Sign Up

Residents are being reminded by Westmorland and Furness Council that there is still time to sign up for its new garden waste collection service, with the current grace period coming to an end later this month.

Since its launch on 1 April, there has been good uptake to the service from residents across Westmorland and Furness, with many choosing to continue receiving garden waste collections. The Council is thanking those who have already signed up and encouraging anyone who has not yet done so to act before the deadline.

Residents can subscribe at a cost of £60 per bin per year, with the grace sign-up window open until 28 June. From 29 June, only bins displaying a valid subscription sticker will be emptied.

Garden waste collections will operate fortnightly from April to March, with a pause during December, January and February.

General household waste and recycling collections are not affected the the new subscription charge but the council has confirmed that the garden waste subscription is the first phase of a wider programme to harmonise waste and recycling services across Westmorland and Furness with further changes, agreed by the councils Cabinet members in September last year including fortnightly general waste collections that will be communicated to residents later this year by the council.

Defending the new subscription charge the council said “Garden waste collections are not covered by Council Tax. The Council must collect general waste and recycling as part of Council Tax, but garden waste collection is a discretionary service”.

“Around 65% of local authorities in England already charge for garden waste collections as a non-essential and opt-in service”.

Those signing up for the first time to the garden waste subscription service who do not already have a garden waste bin, or do not currently receive a collection, will get their first bin free of charge. Additional bins can be purchased for a one-off fee of £25 each, with all bins – including the first – requiring an annual subscription.

The quickest and easiest way to subscribe is online at westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/gardenwaste. Alternatively, residents without internet access can subscribe by calling 0300 373 3300.

Once a subscription has been completed, a sticker will be posted out for residents to attach to their bin. Bins without a valid sticker will not be collected after 28 June. Any additional bins ordered will be delivered after sign-up is complete.

Councillor Adrian Waite, Westmorland and Furness Council Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Transport, said:

"It's been encouraging to see so many residents already signed up to the new service. As we move through June, we want to remind anyone who still intends to subscribe to do so before the deadline. Signing up now will make sure your garden waste collections continue without interruption beyond the end of the month.

"We recognise that this is a change for residents. However, introducing a subscription helps us protect the essential services people rely on, while managing the ongoing financial pressures facing the Council."

For residents who choose not to subscribe, alternatives such as home composting or taking garden waste to a Household Waste Recycling Centre remain available.

Despite the introduction of the subscription service many residents in villages in Eden are unable to sign up to the service the council has told those residents this is because their villages have no planned collection routes currently leaving many unable to subscribe to the new service.

Westmorland and Furness Council was approached for comment on the issues faced by rural areas of Eden unable to subscribe to the garden waste service despite the council claims of harmonisation of services across the district.

The council has so far declined to comment on the situation.